Events and Presentations

ForThe Champernowne Trust Summer Course: "Images of Power and the Power of Images: Exploring Psychological, Ethical and Spiritual Aspects"5th-10th August 2018

Presentation:"The Power of Music: Eros, Order and Individuation"

Today more than ever, music is being listened to in the context of audio-visual media. How are images affected by music, and how does music powerfully constellate images? In this talk, these and other questions will be examined in the context of recent brain research, music therapy and Jungian psychology, focusing on the power of music to affect our emotions and to open us to new possibilities in our lives. We will then compare the teacher-student relationship in learning a musical instrument with the analyst-analysand relationship in psychoanalysis, illustrating the potential of each experience to facilitate what Jung called the individuation process. Finally, we will explore the presenter's method of using a form of music improvisation as active imagination within analysis and in groups, including musical examples.

Music in analysis?
For many who see analysis as a ‘talking cure’, the thought of music
improvisation in analysis is an odd or even unacceptable idea. However,
Jung gave it his blessing. After meeting with the music therapist
Margaret Tilly in 1956, Jung was moved to say: ‘I feel that from now on
music should be an essential part of every analysis. This reaches the
deep archetypal material that we can only sometimes reach in our
analytical work with patients.’ Why hasn’t the Jungian world taken up
Jung’s suggestion? The seminar will be an opportunity to discuss this
question, as well as the many possibilities for thinking about music
within the analytic context. For example, we will look at Jung’s
relationship to music, the symbolism of music in dreams, and the
developmental and archetypal parallels between learning a musical
instrument and what Jung called the individuation process. The seminar
will also be an opportunity to try out the presenter’s unique method for
using simple percussion instruments as active imagination in analysis. No prior musical knowledge or performance background is necessary; none of the instruments takes any skill to play.

A historical overview of Jung's ideas of the archetype and complex as these concepts have evolved to the present day.

"Active Imagination with Music in Analysis"

2016: Saturday and Sunday, November 5th-6th: 11:20 a.m.-5:20 p.m.

An experiential workshop presenting a unique model of using music improvisation within the analytic container. No musical background necessary.

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Independent Group of Analytical Psychologists (IGAP), London:

"Archetypes and Complexes: From Jung to the Present"

2016: Thursday, September 22nd, 7:30-9:30 p.m.

There has always been confusion and disagreement about the nature of the terms archetype and complex in Jungian circles, not to mention non Jungian ones. A recent concern is whether Jung’s concept of the archetype and complex can be justified in terms of current scientific research, most notably that of neurophysiologists and others interested in the brain and consciousness. This lecture will review the evolution of Jungian thought about archetypes and complexes and examine the latest developments in the field, including the idea of the archetype as an emergent property of the activity of the brain/mind.

There is much evidence that the experience of playing and listening to music facilitates the creation of ‘inner order’ in both a psychological and physical sense. From her dual perspective as a performing musician and Jungian analyst, Patricia Skar will explore the links between analytic and musical processes and explain her unique method of using music improvisation as active imagination within analysis.

Arriving in Switzerland, the initial high of discovery can rapidly fade into the challenges of everyday, such as learning a new language and starting over in one’s profession while trying to make new friends and understand Swiss culture. When we’re not settling in as quickly as we would like, anxiety and depression can emerge; we might feel tempted to give up trying altogether. However, this feeling of being back to square one is also an opportunity to discover our hidden resources for growth and creativity. How do we value our own unique histories while learning to let go of old concepts, expectations and behavior? How do we reconnect to our true selves as we search for meaning and purpose in our new environment? In this workshop, Patricia Skar will discuss the challenges of building a life in Switzerland from her own first-hand experience and her work with clients. She will explain how Swiss psychologist Carl Jung’s ideas on ‘individuation’ are particularly relevant to understanding and dealing with the challenges of integration into a new culture. Other aspects of Jungian psychotherapy, such as working with archetypes and complexes, dreams and ‘active imagination’, will also be discussed. The workshop will be an opportunity to ask general questions about Jungian analysis and to explore its particular relevance to times of transition. In this context, Patricia will illustrate how she uses music improvisation as a form of active imagination in individual analysis and groups.